By continuing to use this site you consent to the use of cookies on your device as described in our
Cookie Policy unless you have disabled them. You can change your Cookie Settings at any time but parts of our site will not function correctly without them.

The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on five Russians over abuses including the killing of a prominent opposition leader, days after top-level talks seemed to ease tensions between the powers.

The State Department highlighted the actions against the five people, plus one entity, as it submitted an annual report required by Congress on actions taken under a law over human rights in Russia.

The law, which blocks any US assets of blacklisted people and bars them from traveling to the United States, is named after Sergei Magnitsky, an anti-corruption accountant who died in custody in 2009.

The US Treasury Department said Russian investigators twice tried but were blocked from bringing charges against Geremeyev as the possible organizer of the killing of Nemtsov -- the most high-profile death of a dissident since Putin rose to power two decades ago.

"Nearly 10 years after his death, we remain concerned by the impunity for this and other violent crimes against activists, journalists, whistleblowers and political opposition," State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement.

She also voiced concern about "the intense atmosphere of intimidation for those who work to uncover corruption or human rights violations in the Russian Federation." In response, the Russian embassy in Washington said: "These moves will be followed by reciprocal measures." "Moreover these unconstructive decisions clearly run counter to a positive outlook of the recent Russia-US talks in Sochi," it said in a statement.

The sanctions came just two days after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met Putin in the Russian resort of Sochi, with both sides voicing optimism at finding areas on which to work together.

Pompeo said he still had deep disagreements with Putin but believed the two powers could cooperate on issues including finding a political settlement in war-ravaged Syria and seeking a denuclearization deal with North Korea.